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It had been a long day and tomorrow promised to be even longer.
Doc grabbed an unopened bottle of water from her cabinet. “I’m going to wet the fabric before I try to cut it off.”
Room temperature liquid soaked his shoulder and trickled down his back. “Before you operate, don’t you think you should tell me your name?”
When she didn’t answer, he looked over his shoulder, holding her stare.
A flush stained her cheeks. “It’s Gianna.” She glanced away, then back again. “My friends call me Gia.”
Gia.
Pretty name. No last name, but it was a start.
“Please to meet you, Gia.”
Her snort was soft. “I doubt it. You almost got killed because of me.”
“It’s just a flesh wound.” He wasn’t a funny guy, but he did his best to sound like the Black Knight from Monty Python.
She wrinkled her nose. “Is that a reference to something?”
Damn.She looked cute when she did that.
“Monty Python?” At her blank look, he said, “I guess you’re not a fan of classic British comedy.”
A wry smile. “I was more of aGossip Girlfan.”
Gloved fingers slid beneath his collar. Even through rubber, her touch sent a current of awareness through him.
He shifted his gaze forward, focused on the tabletop, and willed his body to relax. The last couple of days had been a blur of travel and self-recrimination. And yet, being here with Gia—getting the bullet crease in his back tended to—was the first time since the phone call about his mother that he’d felt…content.
“Don’t move.” With careful hands, Gia worked the scissors beneath the fabric and slowly peeled it from his skin.
He tugged the rest of the shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
“So, Caleb…?”
“Varella. Caleb Varella,” he supplied helpfully.
“So, Caleb Varella, what do you do when you aren’t saving damsels in distress?”
She leaned in to inspect the wound. Her breath ghosted across his skin like a physical caress. Her floral scent teased his nose.
He smiled at the irony of her question. “Executive Protection.”
At her confused expression, he clarified, “A bodyguard. I save damsels in distress.”
She gave him the laugh he’d been looking for earlier. Humor and no small amount of relief lit her eyes and transformed her face. “Lucky for me.”
Desire pooled low in Caleb’s belly. He’d thought she was beautiful before, but when she laughed and the shadows disappeared?
Stunning.
Prickly pear.
That’s what she’d taste like. It matched her scent.
Color crept into her cheeks. She looked away.